passengers aboard a troop-ship, the Rudolstadt, on their way back to Australia immediately after World War I. It is particularly interesting for its depiction of the Australian 'digger'; his anti-authoritarianism, larrikinism, and, at the same time, his loyalty to those whom he respects". In the 1940s, her work was coloured by the war. The home front figured particularly in Cheerfulness Breaks In (1940), showing how women saw their loved ones off to the front and Northbridge Rectory, which showed how housewives coped with the annoyances of wartime life. These books include Marling Hall, Growing Up and The Headmistress and provide a vibrant picture of the attitude, struggle and resigned good cheer, of British women during the war. Even a book which did not deal exclusively with the war effort, Miss Bunting, addressed changes in society the war had wrought, as the title character, a governess, grows to middle age and wonders how to live out her life and where her ambitions might take her as the world turns upside down. These books provide a time capsule of the age. Later books in the 1950s became more romantic and less contemporary. Among these, The Old Bank House in particular shows Thirkell concerned with the rise of the merchant class, her prejudices evident but giving way to grudging respect for industriousness and goodhearted generosity. Later books are simpler romances. The romance The Duke's Daughter deals in a way more directly than some of her others with descendants of Trollope's Barsetshire characters. Her final book, Three Score and Ten, was left unfinished at her death but was completed later by C. A. Lejeune. Thirkell showed a keen social sense and a lively eye for the telling detail of everyday life. Many of her books remain in print. Selected books Barsetshire Chronicles High Rising (1933) Wild Strawberries (1934) The Demon in the House (1934) August Folly (1936) Summer Half (1937) Pomfret Towers (1938) The Brandons (1939) Before Lunch (1939/1940) Cheerfulness Breaks In (1940) Northbridge Rectory (1941) Marling Hall (1942) Growing Up (1943) The Headmistress (1944) Miss Bunting (1945) Peace Breaks Out (1946) Private Enterprise (1947) Love Among the Ruins (1948) The Old Bank House (1949) County Chronicle (1950) The Duke's Daughter (1951) Happy Returns (1952) Jutland Cottage (1953) What Did It Mean? (1954) Enter Sir Robert (1955) Never Too Late (1956) A Double Affair (1957) Close Quarters (1958) Love at All Ages (1959) Three